I have seen a lot of debate on whether or not URLs made of keywords are a good idea or not. Personally I have thought they are and it only makes sense that if your primary keywords are in your site URL then it would benefit you not only in the search game but also by having your website address easy to remember.
Now it seems that Google is okay with keywords in the domain name. I was looking at the Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide put out by Google and on page 8 under “Good Practices For URL Structure” it says to use words that are relevant to your website’s content. I interpret that to mean it is OK to have a keyword based website address.
I wouldn’t go overboard with more than 3 words in a domain name, less if possible. Make it easy to remember and easy for the search engines to match up to the content of your site.
SEO is not the “end all” solution for getting traffic to your website. While an effective search engine optimization campaign is required to achieve good search return rankings, there are many things you can do offline to increase your traffic.
Here are a few tips I have used to increase traffic to my websites:
- Everything that goes in the mail has a website url on it someplace. Your mail is handled by a lot of people before it reaches its final destination.
- Business cards with website address and basic info about the site. This is not your “business” business card but a promotional card. Think of it as a pocket sized billboard.
- Speaking of billboards – Digital billboards are popping up everywhere and that means an opportunity for your website to be on display in a big way in front of thousands of people each day. Digital billboards make the price much more affordable as multiple advertisers share the same billboard.
- Bumper stickers – how often do you find yourself at a stoplight and you are reading the bumper sticker in front of you. You would be surprised at the number of people that are willing to put your bumper sticker on their car for a small price, perhaps one of the items you sell on your website.
- Magnetic side panel signs for your car. Realtors are famous for this. A 24” by 18” magnetic sign on each of the front doors of your car with your website address and graphic can be very effective at getting the word out locally about your site.
- Become a walking billboard – Get some t-shirts for friends and family with your web address and pass them out. You don’t have to wear them all the time but it is a good way to get your url noticed.
I am sure many of these seem simple and basic but they work. Getting the word out offline about your website is just as important as an effective SEO campaign and in reality can bring a great deal of traffic to your site much quicker than waiting to climb to the top of the search engines.
What are your ideas for offline website traffic generation?
This post is aimed at those with new websites or in the first states of seeking SEO solutions for their online presence.
I am sure you have heard many stories of SEO companies that gaurantee top placement then do nothing more than use pay per click campaigns to get your site noticed on the front page. While PPC does have it’s uses it is by no means an effective SEO tool. In fact all it will do is put a big drain on your marketing budget. The only time PPC will ever be effective is if you have a very hign conversion rate at your site and the money you make is far greater that what you spend on PPC.
Why am I writing this when I am sure most of you already know it? We have heard a lot about predatory lending over the past year and what it has done help bring down our economy. Well I believe there are predatory SEO people out there who go after the unintiated and the new and have no remorse about charging an outrageous fee and promising top spot then simply using part of your money for Adsense or some other PPC program and pocketing the rest.
The next time someone promises you top spot be sure to find out all you can abou that company and ask them to show you how they intend to carry out the SEO campaign and ask for references. Check them out thoroughly and don’t become a victim of SEO charlatans.
